


The First Night Again

by paranoidangel



Category: Wizards vs Aliens
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:39:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2216163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paranoidangel/pseuds/paranoidangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six years later and it's the same thinking keeping Michael and Tom from sleeping at night. Spoilers for <em>The Last Day</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Night Again

At the creak of the stairs Michael turned to the kitchen doorway, the lid of the milk carton in his hand. He half-expected it to be Helen. It couldn't be, of course, she was dead - again - and he'd grown used to her not being there once before, so it should be easier the second time. However, he was still a little disappointed to see Tom enter the kitchen, blinking in the light.

"I couldn't sleep," Tom said, at his father's questioning look.

The insomnia was something else he remembered too. The nights had been the hardest, alone in bed. Much as he'd known Tom needed his sleep too, at least calming him down and sending him back to bed had taken Michael's mind off things. He was just as glad of it now. "Hot chocolate?"

Tom nodded and went over to the bar to flop onto a stool. Michael watched Tom rub his eyes, the way he hadn't seem his son do since he was a child. He wondered how often thinking about the Nekross had kept Tom awake when the rest of the house had been asleep. That, though, was a conversation best left to the daytime. For now he added some more milk to the saucepan and asked softly, "Thinking about Mum?"

"Yeah. I just..." He sighed and laid a fist on the counter, before opening it up and laying his palm down flat. "Seeing her again..." He looked guilty and for the second time today Michael hated the part of his son that made him think he had to protect his father, when it should be the other way round.

Michael busied himself pouring their drinks, thinking of the right things to say to Tom. None of the usual platitudes had worked on himself, staring up at the ceiling before he decided to get up, but maybe hearing them from someone else would help Tom. "One hot chocolate, guaranteed to make the monsters stay under the bed for the rest of the night." Tom at least smiled at that, and took the mug Michael put in front of him, pulling it closer to him. Michael reminded himself that if he stayed positive, then Tom would too. "I know it's hard, but you have to think of it as a chance to see her that you never thought you'd have."

Tom gave him a sceptical look, before blowing on his drink. "If the Nekross had never found Earth she'd still be alive." He looked back up, the injustice he felt shown on his face.

You can't think like that," Michael said firmly. "If you start down that road, who knows where you'll be. What if me and Mum had never met? Then you'd never have been born."

Tom shook his head "I was always meant to be born. You wouldn't know what to do without me."

Although Michael shared Tom's smile, Tom didn't know just how true that had been when Helen died. He sipped at his drink, trying not to think about it.

When Tom put his mug down after taking a sip himself, he asked, "How did Mum tell you about magic?"

Michael wondered if he was trying to think about something else and Katie was the first thing that came into his mind. He didn't mind answering, though. "She didn't tell me so much as show me. I think she knew I wouldn't have believed her otherwise." Michael chuckled.

Tom smiled. "What did she do?"

Michael put his mug down. "Took me to a children's playground at night and set all the swings going. Including the one I was sitting on. I nearly fell off - I thought she was trying to kill me!"

It was Tom's turn to laugh, putting a hand over his mouth.

"For a while I thought the whole purpose of magic was to make things go bump in the night." Michael shook his head. Now he knew the opposite was true.

Tom leaned forward. "What changed your mind?"

"My dog died." It had been long enough ago that he wasn't upset any more, but sipped at his drink before continuing. "He was elderly, so it wasn't unexpected, but it still made the house feel empty without him in it." He definitely didn't want to dwell on that too much and remind them both of how empty the house felt without Helen in it. "So she stayed the night to keep me company and magicked up a toothbrush in the morning."

"So you married her so you'd never have to buy a toothbrush again." Tom grinned.

"Cheeky." Though Michael smiled too. "I decided anyone who cared about me enough to make sure I was happy without even stopping to think about their toothbrush was worth keeping, even with the magic." He turned more serious because Tom was too young to be worrying about how girls would react upon finding out he was a wizard. "But you know most people don't marry someone they met when they were sixteen."

Tom studied his drink, but Michael still saw his face redden. "I hate that I can't tell Katie what's really going on, but I don't want to put her in danger either."

"I understand, but Nekross aside, there's always danger and always an excuse. I'm not saying you should tell Katie-" and Michael really hoped he wasn't going to tell the first girl he had a crush on- "but that's not a reason not to."

Tom nodded. "I can't tell her because magic has to stay a secret," he said in the tone of someone who'd repeated that many times before.

"That's a good reason." Michael smiled. "Now finish your hot chocolate and get yourself back to bed or it'll be morning before you know it." He finished his own drink as Tom obediently did the same.

"Will you tell me more stories about Mum tomorrow?" Tom asked as he slid off the stool and watched Michael take their mugs over to the sink. "I like hearing them."

"Of course." He liked telling them, he'd just got out of the habit as Tom got older. "But preferably during the daytime." He clapped Tom on the shoulder.

"I'm not getting up in the middle of the night just for a story." He grinned.

Michael smiled and shook his head as he switched the kitchen light off and followed Tom upstairs.


End file.
